ASPCA Rescues and Arrests Blog Posts

Update: View our video below for footage from this operation and for a closer look at many of the dogs we rescued in the process.

This post was originally published on February 24, 2015.

Acting at the request of the Stone County Sheriff’s Department, the ASPCA is on the ground in Mountain View, Arkansas, today removing approximately 100 dogs from an overwhelmed rescue group’s facility. The facility agreed to surrender the dogs due to its lack of sufficient resources. The dogs—including Huskies, Labs and Beagles—range from two days to 10 years old. The majority were never spayed or neutered and several are pregnant.

Last week, the ASPCA assisted the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in removing several Yorkshire Terrier puppies from a building in Lower Manhattan.

The puppies are currently receiving medical care at the ASPCA Hospital, and as this is still an open case with the NYPD, we cannot provide further details at this time.

“This is another example of the partnership between the NYPD and the ASPCA working to rescue animals in New York City,” says Howard Lawrence, Senior Director, ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Group. “Fortunately, these puppies are now getting expert care from ASPCA veterinary staff. We are hopeful that they will be healthy enough to find homes this spring.”

Update: We appreciate the outpouring of support and inquiries about this dog, now named Fraggle (pictured right). Fraggle was in very serious condition when he came to us, and ongoing, life-saving medical treatment was necessary to address his extreme malnutrition and several other issues that arose from his compromised health. Progress has been slow, but Fraggle is showing signs of recovery at the ASPCA Animal Hospital He has begun to eat on his own and can even walk short distances unaided. The ASPCA is still offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case, in addition to the $2,000 being offered by NYPD Crime Stoppers. Anyone with information is asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-577-TIPS or going online to submit a tip to Crime Stoppers’ website. NYPD Crime Stoppers accepts anonymous tips.

This post was originally published on January 26, 2015.

Last week, a malnourished pit bull mix was found zipped inside a suitcase in the south Bronx by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers. Thanks to a generous benefactor, the ASPCA is able to offer a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this horrific cruelty case.

The approximately three-year-old male dog was abandoned behind a housing complex. The NYPD transferred the dog to the care of the ASPCA. He is currently being examined for evidence and receiving life-saving medical treatment.

If you have information about this case, please contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-577-TIPS or going online to submit a tip to via Crime Stoppers' website. NYPD Crime Stoppers accepts anonymous tips.

At the request of Humane Society International (HSI), two of 23 dogs rescued from a meat farm in South Korea are being transferred to the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey today. The ASPCA Rehabilitation Center is the first and only facility dedicated to the behavioral rehabilitation of fearful and undersocialized homeless dogs, and HSI contacted the ASPCA after it became apparent that the dogs needed behavioral rehabilitation.

Our animal behavior experts and support staff will work daily with the two dogs—a white Jindo named Robin and a Husky mix named Kaya—until they are ready for adoption. The team will utilize scientific techniques to reduce the dogs’ fear of people, as well as to gradually acclimate them to unfamiliar objects, sounds, living areas, and real-life situations that can induce trauma and severe distress.

“The ASPCA is pleased to be in a position to help these two dogs overcome their past and begin a new life,” said Kristen Collins, Senior Director of ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Behavior Rehabilitation. “We’ve gained a tremendous amount of insight into behavioral rehabilitation over the past two years since the launch of our program, and we hope to help countless more dogs like Kaya and Robin recover and find permanent homes.”

We are thrilled to help Kaya and Robin begin their road to recovery, and we look forward to giving many more innocent victims of cruelty and neglect a second chance at life. To see the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in action, check out the story of Coconut, a traumatized puppy mill dog who was rehabilitated and adopted into a loving home.

Toefu was one of 76 dogs rescued from the home of a hoarder in Tennessee in 2010. The dogs were found living in horrific filth, with fumes of ammonia and animal waste strong enough to send one rescuer to the hospital. All of the dogs were desperate for freedom; Toefu was number 16.

After their rescue, the animals were taken to a local shelter where they were treated for a variety of issues. It was there that ASPCA Animal Behaviorist Kristen Collins first spotted Toefu. Likely inbred, Toefu had an underbite, extra toes, and had never before experienced life outside of the hoarder’s home. Kristin adopted her and spent the next year helping the sweet spaniel overcome a lifetime of anxiety, fear and neglect.

In 2013, Kristin and her dogs moved to Madison, New Jersey, where Kristin began overseeing the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center—the first and only facility dedicated to the behavioral rehabilitation of canine victims of cruelty. It was there that Toefu discovered her true calling: helper dog.